Contrast
by chillbook1
Summary: Qrow and Winter are about as opposite as can be. But that doesn't mean they can't go well together. AU in which the Vytal Festival went off without a hitch, Beacon never fell, and Team RWBY remained united.
1. Black & White

Winter quickly and angrily stepped along the streets of Vale. She had only been away from Atlas for a few hours and she was already sick of the quaint, comparatively tiny city. Of course, that had less to do with Vale and more to do with the reason she was there. Winter tried to keep her emotions in check as she marched into the building she had been searching for: The Fallen Nevermore.

It was mostly empty, with the exception of the bartender, two patrons, and the reason Winter was there. She reflexively grabbed her sword upon seeing his own. Though he never turned around, Winter could tell that he noticed her. She approached him, preparing her speech on her way.

"Rocky, do you feel a draft?" groaned Qrow, downing the shot the bartender put before him. "It's almost the queen bitch of ice walked in."

"Branwen," said Winter flatly.

"Schnee. We done here?" Qrow slammed the empty glass onto the counter. "What do you want, Winter?"

"General Ironwood sent me to retrieve you and return you home. He's concerned for your safety." Qrow snickered dubiously. "Well, Ozpin convinced the General to be concerned."

"Well, tell Oz that I'm fine," grumbled Qrow. "And tell Jimmy to bite me."

"Must you be a child at all times?"

"Rocky, give me another." Qrow ignored Winter entirely, which greatly infuriated her. "And give Specialist Schnee here a shot. Or a map back to Atlas, whichever you have laying around."

"I don't drink," said Winter.

"No wonder I hate you."

"Branwen, what are you doing here?" sighed Winter. She crossed the bar and took a seat next to Qrow. "You're making things difficult." Rocky the bartender arrived with two shots, one of which was consumed immediately by Qrow. "My career depends on this. I need to bring you back home."

"I'm not leaving until I'm thoroughly plastered," chuckled Qrow. "Only way to beat me…" He slid the second shot closer to Winter. "Is to join me." Winter stared at the clear liquid for a moment before sighing, grabbing up the glass and draining it. As soon as she swallowed the shot, her chest and throat burst into burning pain.

"Ack! Dear lord, this is strong!" coughed Winter. Qrow chuckled.

"Lightweight."

"I already told you, I don't drink," said Winter. "Now hurry along. I need to return to Atlas by 0500." Qrow grumbled, then gestured for Rocky.

"Alright, alright, one more," said Qrow. Rocky quickly came along and filled Qrow's glass. "C'mon, Rocks, you know what I meant." Rocky nodded, turned to the shelf, and placed a bottle of scotch on the table. Qrow downed the shot, then popped open the whiskey and took a sip straight from the bottle.

"You're… You don't intend to drink that whole thing, do you?" asked Winter. Qrow shrugged.

"I paid for the bottle, someone better drink it," said Qrow. "Normally, my buddy Goldie is here to finish it off with me."

"Where is he?"

"The stomach of an Ursa," said Qrow. He took another big gulp of whiskey, looking down at the table. Winter watched the dejection in his face, and made a decision she was sure she'd regret.

"Barkeep, bring me a glass," commanded Winter. Rocky slid an old fashioned glass across the table. Winter yanked the whiskey from Qrow's grasp, filled her own glass, then downed it.

"What are you doing?" asked Qrow. Winter would've responded, if she wasn't busy choking on the fire of the scotch.

"I cannot let you drink that whole bottle by yourself," said Winter. "The General would be furious if I let you drink yourself to death." Qrow grinned, refilled Winter's glass, and drank with his bitter rival. By Winter's second drink, her speech began to degrade, much to Qrow's amusement. By drink number four, she was officially tipsy. When the bottle was finished and Qrow paid his tab, it became clear that Winter would not be leaving Vale any time soon.

"You got a place to stay?" asked Qrow. Winter slowly shook her head, rocking in her seat slightly. She slumped forward, leaning her chin on Qrow's shoulder.

"Nope, but I bet you knew that," she slurred. To Qrow's surprise, Winter ran her finger down his chest. "But maybe you can do something about that?"

"Are you asking to crash at my place?" asked Qrow. Winter giggled, which was frankly terrifying.

"I wouldn't expect you to let me stay for free," said Winter, winking slyly. "I'd be more than happy to pay you back for your hospitality."

"I don't want your Lien, Schnee."

Winter grabbed Qrow's hand and placed it on her hip, the rested her palm on Qrow's chest.

"Who said anything about Lien?" she asked. Qrow looked concerned for a bit, worried about Winter's erratic behavior and her attempt at seduction. When she woke up, she would be absolutely furious at Qrow. Then, he considered that she'd probably be angry at him anyway, so he reached the logical conclusion.

"Fuck it," said Qrow. "Let's head home."

* * *

When Winter woke up, she instantly went into full-out panic mode. Where was she? What happened the night before? Why did her head feel like death? How did she end up in her bed? Except…

She wasn't in her bed. Just _a_ bed. She sat up, realizing as the sheet slipped that she was naked, and she now had a dimension of anger on top of her confusion. Winter did not recall taking her clothes off, she was in a strange bedroom, and she remembered nothing of the night before. She leaned over to the side of her bed and grabbed her sword. Just to her left, she noticed another sword. Qrow's sword.

Slowly, the pieces began to fall into place.

"Son of a bitch," whispered Winter.

"Oh, that language, Schnee." Winter's eyes darted up and to the right, where Qrow stood in the door, shirtless. "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"What did you do to me?" demanded Winter.

"Not so much what I did _to_ you, more like what I did _for_ you." Qrow grinned in satisfaction. "Gotta say, you're a lot more fun when you're drunk."

"What time is it?"

"Noon."

"Damn it all, damn it all!" snapped Winter. She wrapped the sheet around her body, scrambling search of her Scroll. "Oh, this is it, my career is over! I'll be dishonorably discharged, I'll have to move back in with Father, if he even lets me! How could I let this happen?!"

"Calm your tits, Specialist," said Qrow. "It'll be fine."

"It will _not_ be fine! I cannot believe I allowed you to distract me to such a degree that I did something as reprimandable and, frankly, disgusting as… What we did!"

"Schnee, I'm—"

"Qrow, it's over for me! I will be lucky if I'm allowed to be a secretary for the Atlesian government!" shouted Winter. "Now where is my damned Scroll?!" Qrow waved the communicator through the air. Winter leapt forward, missing her target entirely as Qrow sidestepped her.

"Give it back, Branwen!" ordered Winter.

"Your nipples are showing," said Qrow. Winter blushed, then quickly pulled the sheet up. "Shut up, Schnee, I'm calling Ironwood."

Winter's heart dropped into her gut. She choked on her own breath, the fear of a child striking through her. Her eyes welled up with tears, the prospect of her soiled career almost too much for her to bear.

"Qrow, I am begging you, and begging is not a thing I typically do," said Winter, her voice scarcely higher than a whisper. "Please do not do this. This job is my life. If I get booted from the Special Forces, everything about my life is over."

"Shut up, Schnee," repeated Qrow. He dialed a number on Winter's Scroll, setting it on speaker mode. It didn't take long for the line to connect.

"Schnee, I was expecting you back in Atlas hours ago," said the voice on the other line, General Ironwood. "I hope you have a good reason for this little excursion. I gave you a simple task, and your tardiness is, frankly, unacceptable."

"Y-yes, of course, General Ironwood," stammered Winter. "I apologize, I have no excuse, it was completely—"

"My fault, I got this, Winter," said Qrow suddenly. "I don't need you to cover for me."

"Oh. Hello, Qrow. What exactly do you mean?" asked Ironwood, irritation creeping into his voice.

"Winter came to the bar to pick me up just like you told her. Only thing is I was kinda belligerent and I may have taken a swing or three at her," said Qrow sheepishly. "She dealt with me, secured me down, but she took a bit of a beating. She kept an eye on me to make sure I didn't do any stupid."

"You attacked Winter?"

"Yeah, and if I wasn't drunk I would've beaten her." He grinned playfully at Winter. "But, this time, I only managed to bruise her a bit. I'll bring her back tomorrow, but she didn't sleep last night and I may have fractured her leg. She's not leaving Vale until the morning."

"That's not a decision for you to make," said Ironwood.

"I disagree. I'll call you when we're on our way." Qrow disconnected the call and threw it onto the bed. "There, I did a good thing."

"Why?" demanded Winter. "Why would you lie to the General like that?"

"Technically, I didn't. I was drunk, I was belligerent, as the prints on your ass can attest to." Winter blushed, which only made Qrow smile. "And take a beating? Well—"

"Okay, I get it!" Winter blushed fiercely. "Where are my clothes?"

Qrow chuckled, then left the room for a second. He returned with Winter's clothes, cleaned and ironed. He threw them to her and, after she glared at him for several moments, he turned his back while she dressed.

"You do realize that this is entirely pointless, right?" asked Qrow. "After last night, I've seen more Winter Schnee than I could ever need to see."

"My money. I had my Schnee card and twelve hundred Lien in my pocket," said Winter, ignoring Qrow's teasing. Qrow pulled the cash and credit from his pocket and handed it to a now fully-dressed Winter.

"I figured you'd be pissed if I got your credit card wet in the wash," said Qrow. "So, I just freed up your day. What do you plan to do in Vale?"

Winter had already made a series of decisions that were questionable at best, flat-out stupid at worst. And, based on the way she felt, she'd soon be making several more.

"May I… May I take you out for a coffee?" Winter almost couldn't get the words out without vomiting.

"You have it out of order, Schnee. You're supposed to ask me out _first_ , and _then_ we fuck," snickered Qrow.

"You are such a child. I am a lady, and it is rude to just… Have relations and leave. We should at least have a coffee," said Winter. "Plus… I wanted to talk to you about last night. I don't remember much."

"I was amazing," said Qrow simply. Winter groaned, her blush growing more intense. She actually remembered that much.

"That's not exactly what I meant. This is a big deal for me," explained Winter. "When I dreamed of my first time, I never expected it to be you."

Qrow was about to deliver a witty retort, no doubt about how glad she should be now, when Winter's comment actually registered in his brain. When it did, a wide grin spread on his face.

"Oh my God, I deflowered a Schnee," said Qrow, a tiny laugh in his voice. Winter gave a blushing nod. "Well, I don't just corrupt and dash. Coffee, you said?"

"And something for this god-awful hangover," said Winter. Qrow smirked. This wasn't what he was expecting, but that's what made it fun.

"Coffee it is, then."


	2. Loud & Quiet

"So… How are things?" asked Winter. Qrow chuckled before sipping his coffee.

"You're shit at small talk, Schnee," said Qrow. "You already asked me just about every variation of that question."

"Well, I'm sorry, Branwen, but this is all new and strange to me." Winter gulped her coffee, ignoring the fact that it was scalding hot.

"Why? We're not strangers or anything," said Qrow. "How long have we known each other? A year? Two?"

"Two years, three months, one week, four days," listed Winter.

"But who's counting?" remarked Qrow.

"It's not the amount of time we've known each other. It's the fact that we've been bitter enemies the whole time."

"True, but we do have small talk from time to time. What do we normally say to each other?"

"You do something irresponsible, I berate you for it, you respond with something sarcastic, normally pertaining to the Schnee corporation, I threaten you, you match my challenge, and then we fight."

"Ah, I see the dilemma. How about, instead of talking to me like you hate my guts, you talk to me like you talk to your friends," suggested Qrow.

"General Ironwood is my only friend."

"Okay, I'm gonna take charge of this conversation now, because I'm going to kill myself if this gets any more depressing." Qrow pulled a flask from his breast pocket and took a small sip. Winter grimaced at the display.

"You're drinking already?" asked Winter. "Honestly, Branwen, how have you managed to survive this long?"

"My Semblance allows me to break down alcohol and add the resulting energy directly to my Aura," said Qrow. Winter nearly dropped her mug.

"Really?!"

"No, stupid, I just drink a lot. Besides, it's cream." To prove it, Qrow poured some of the flask's contents into his coffee. Sure enough, a thick, sweet-smelling, milky white liquid poured into his mug. "I got the stuff from Mistral, and they don't have it in Vale, so I carry some around."

"You just carry cream in your pocket on the off-chance that you get offered coffee?" asked Winter.

"Well, it's alcoholic, so I just drink it sometimes." Qrow returned the flask to his pocket, stirred his drink, and sipped.

"Is this really better than us fighting?"

"Hm… Nah. This is pretty bad,"said Qrow with a shrug. Winter shook her head, disappointed that all of her life choices had amounted to this. "Hey, let's think about it like this. Last night, we did something I like to do. Well… We did a few things I like to do." Qrow winked, which made Winter blush more fiercely than ever before. "So… Why don't we do something that you wanna do."

"Something I want to do?" repeated Winter.

"You've gotta have something that resembles a hobby. What do you normally do for fun?"

"F-fun…"

"Yes, Winter, glad to know that you can repeat after me. C'mon, stop joking around," said Qrow. "When you're not working, fighting, or filing paperwork, what do you do?"

"Er… I don't exactly have a lot of time off from work. Barring injuries and mandatory vacations, this my first day off since I enlisted," explained Winter. "But... I go to art viewings whenever I can. Is there anything like that in Vale?"

"Mh-hm. There's an art show slash wine tasting tonight at nine. I know a guy, I'll get our tickets." Qrow pulled out his Scroll, sending out a text to his friend who ran the show. "We still have a few hours til then. Maybe we should head back to my place and—"

"No," said Winter flatly.

"I'm just saying, you were drunk last night, so you couldn't fully appreciate—"

"It will be a cold day in hell before I even consider doing that again."

"Ouch. That's cold, Schnee," said Qrow. "Was I too rough last night? I promise, I'll be gentle next time."

"Burn in hell, Branwen," mumbled Winter, her face giving off a blushing heat comparable to the sun. Qrow rolled his eyes, taking another swig of cream.

"Hey, you should be flattered," said Qrow. "I haven't slept with the same girl twice since… Well, probably since Summer."

Winter set down her coffee, intrigued. She had done a lot of research on Qrow Branwen since meeting him, and none of his files had shown he had any relationship with Summer Rose other than that of leader and teammate.

"You… you slept with Summer Rose?" asked Winter.

"We did other things too, but yeah," chuckled Qrow. "Once upon a time… but that was before she left me for Taiyang."

"That is Ruby's father, correct?"

"Yeah. It's one of the reasons we don't get along like we used to. I blamed him for Summer leaving and he blames me for…" Qrow shook himself firmly, as if waking himself from a bad dream. "Anyway, we didn't come here to talk about me. You said you wanted to talk?"

"Y-yes," stammered Winter. She was officially confused. She had always seen Qrow as a one-dimensional, sleazy, good-for-nothing ruffian. The more they spoke without fighting, the more Winter was being proved wrong. "I wanted to talk about us."

"Whoa, kid, pump your brakes," said Qrow, shaking his head. "We screwed once and have gone on half a date. There is no us."

"I know that, you twit. I mean last night. Why did we do that?"

"Because we find each other repulsive, and that makes it grossly satisfying when we bang. And, apparently, you get horny when you're drunk."

"And you? No underlying feelings on your end?"

"Duh. I'm a 'hit-it-and-run' kind of guy," said Qrow. "It takes more than just a decent fuck for me to wanna stick around."

"Good. That makes things much simpler," said Winter, clenching her fist. "Understand, Branwen, what happened between us last night was a mistake, and I do not tend to repeat my mistakes. Last night, was a mistake. This coffee is for my hangover. The art show is to make things even between us. That is all. Do I make myself clear?"

Qrow raised a curious eyebrow, then took a sip of his coffee.

"Crystal," he said with a devious smirk.

"I mean it, Qrow. I promise, that sex was a one time thing," said Winter.

"Who are you trying to convince, me or you?"

"We will _never_ do that again."

* * *

"Ah! Ah! Qrow! Qrow! Qrow! Ooooh, God, I'm gonna— _AH!_ "

Winter quivered, then collapsed onto Qrow's chest, completely and utterly spent. Qrow grinned to himself, running a hand through Winter's hair in a strangely tender gesture.

"Never again?" asked Qrow.

"Starting now," murmured Winter. "Never again starting now."

"You sure? I got at least one more round in me."

Winter bit her lip, hating Qrow, her situation, and herself. It was the wine, she assured herself. She wasn't completely in control of her actions. That's why she wasn't finding Qrow as repulsive as usual. That's why she was doing this. Not because she was interested in Qrow, not because she found him attractive, but because of the three glasses of red wine she had at the art show.

It had nothing to do with the fact that Qrow was actually bordering on charming at the art show, a perfect gentleman who exceeded all of Winter's expectations for the date. Nor did it have to do with the fact that Qrow, somehow, had an appreciation for fine art, being able to maintain a conversation about the pieces they viewed. It was surprising, refreshing, and a little bit scary.

"I have to be on a Bullhead to Atlas in two hours," said Winter. "I need to start getting ready."

"I can make it quick."

"Qrow… Would you like to go out to dinner sometime?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Another date. The perfect solution to an imperfect situation," sighed Winter. "You clearly want to keep this arrangement going, and I'd feel wrong if all we did was sleep together. So, let's try this out. If it doesn't work, we pretend it never happened."

"You wanna test-drive a relationship?" asked Qrow. Winter nodded timidly. "Why?"

"Because you are more than what you let on to be. Because you are intriguing and gentle and fun when I learn to ignore your surface level debauchery." Winter blushed. "Because you knew I wanted you to be gentler in bed, and you actually were."

"I'm not the best for dates," grumbled Qrow.

"You clean up surprisingly well."

"Huh. Well, I suppose a date wouldn't be the craziest thing I've ever done." Qrow ran his hands through his hair, pushing his bangs back out of his eyes. "Alright, then. When do you next get back from Atlas?"

"I'm not sure. Likely a week or so," said Winter. "I suppose we're supposed to trade Scroll numbers now."

"That's what normal people would do at this point, yeah," said Qrow. He grabbed Winter's Scroll from the nightstand, inputting his contact information. "Gotta say, Schnee… This is weird."

"Indeed. Everything about this feels wrong," said Winter. She rolled out of bed, wrapping herself in a sheet to preserve some degree of modesty. "But perhaps a bit of strange is for the best."

"Want me to ride back to Atlas with you? So I can talk to Jim?" offered Qrow.

"Are you going to be a loud, drunk, belligerent child?" asked Winter.

"Without question."

Winter sighed, clutching her head. This was going to be very, very strange.

"Very well. Be ready in half an hour."


	3. Red & White

Qrow held Winter in his arms, the two of them lounging lazily in bed. Winter still felt a bit strange, not entirely used to the sensation of being both naked and sober in Qrow's presence. It was normally one or the other, but over the last month or so, Winter felt herself become more comfortable around Qrow. He felt less like a threatening Beowolf and more like an aggressive guard dog.

"We should tell them," said Qrow, quite out of the blue.

"Hm? Tell who what?" asked Winter.

"Yang. Ruby. Weiss. They should know. About us."

"Weiss will _not_ be okay with this." Qrow pushed himself to a more upright position, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"I wasn't aware that you needed your little sister's permission," said Qrow.

"I don't. I'm just letting you know that she most likely will respond poorly," said Winter. "Thus why I haven't told her yet myself."

"So what? You just intended to keep this a secret from her forever?"

"Do you tell Ruby everything about your life?"

"Everything that impacts her, yeah."

"Even that you slept with her mother?"

Qrow paused, his mouth slightly agape as he tried to talk his way around that point.

"Touché, Schnee," he said after a moment. "But this is different. It's ongoing, and I can't see myself getting rid of you anytime soon. So… we should tell them."

"How do we even go about it?" asked Winter.

"Alright, let's role play. I'll be me, you be Weiss, alright?"

"Okay." Winter cleared her throat and spoke in a decent imitation of her younger sister. "Hello, Mr. Branwen. Ruby's not here right now, what brings you here?"

"Just wanted to let you know that I've been fucking your sister for like a month now," said Qrow bluntly. "So I guess I'm your big brother now."

"Why do I even try?" groaned Winter. Qrow chuckled, managing to invoke a small smile from Winter.

"I'm kidding. C'mon, Schnee, I'm not _totally_ tactless," he laughed. "We can explain to them that we decided to try each other out for a bit. Ruby and Yang have been trying to get me to start dating since they were little. They thought they had me set up with Goodwitch, but she shut that down real quick."

"You and Glynda? The only thing stranger than you and me."

"Nah, not as weird as you think. She's got a nice body and can hold her liquor," said Qrow with a shrug. "Too kinky for me, though. Well, that's amongst all the the other problems we had."

"Wait, did you sleep with Goodwitch?" asked Winter.

"Look, kid, you gotta understand," said Qrow. "I have, like, twenty-five years on you. I've been around the block. And, as you've no doubt noticed, I'm a charming son of a bitch. I've slept with most of my female coworkers. Until they put up that rule against it."

"There was a rule?"

"The Branwen Ban. No tender-lovin' for me." Qrow chuckled, twirling a lock of Winter's hair. "I'm gonna get dressed. If we leave now, we can grab the kids just as class ends. Maybe take em to dinner."

"Mh-hm. Sounds nice."

"You're paying."

"What a gentleman."

"Hey, it's not my fault that your shoes cost more than I make in a year," said Qrow. He rolled out of bed, stretching tiredly. "I'm hopping in the shower. Coming with?"

Winter looked Qrow up and down, properly admiring his figure for the first time since they started seeing each other. There was no denying that Qrow was an older man, having far too many scars and wear-and-tear for someone Winter's age. That said, Qrow had aged remarkably well. He still moved, thought, spoke, and acted like a younger man. It would be foolish to say that Qrow was past his prime. Winter even believed that he might actually be getting better with age.

"Absolutely," she said with a small smirk.

* * *

Qrow and Winter strolled through the courtyards of Beacon Academy, passing swarms of students on the way to their dorms. Qrow chuckled to himself, reminiscing at the fun he had during his time at Beacon.

"Where do you think we'll find them?" asked Winter.

"Ruby tends to find me some way or another," said Qrow. "Matter of fact… You might wanna move. Now." Winter did as she was told, stepping to the side.

"Uncle Qrooooooooooow!"

Qrow couldn't help but smirk as he felt a small mass latch onto his arm. He raised his arm, grinning at the small, red cape-clad girl clutching to his elbow.

"Sup," said Qrow.

"Oh my god, Uncle Qrow! What're you doing here?!" squealed Ruby. "I missed you so much! Did you miss me?! Did you?!"

Qrow smirked, trying to keep his laughter contained. Ruby was more like her mother than she'd ever know.

"Nope."

"Hello, Ruby Rose," said Winter. "Is Weiss around?"

"Oh, h-hi, Winter." Ruby dropped down, trying to look as calm as possible. "Er… Weiss was right behind me, but I think it left her behind. I forget how fast I am sometimes. I'll just call her and-"

"Ruby Rose, you absolute dolt!" The sound of heels clacking against stone could be heard as the heiress to the Schnee Dust Corporation came running through. "We were supposed to… Oh! Winter! What are you doing here?! When did you come in? If I would've known, I would've-"

Winter quickly and firmly slapped her sister on the top of the head, stopping the stream of speech immediately.

"Ow!" Weiss rubbed her head gingerly.

"That sort of behavior is unfit for a woman of your stature," said Winter. "Father would be aghast."

"Right. Sorry."

"But… Father isn't here." Winter smiled, hugging her sister warmly. Qrow took noted; it wasn't often that Winter displayed any emotion other than fury.

"Seriously, what are you guys doing here?" asked Ruby. "I thought you two hated each other!"

"Hating someone is too much effort," said Qrow. "And, besides, we never really got to congratulate you on your win at Vytal. Thought we'd take you out to dinner. Where's Yang and the emo kid?"

"They're making ou-"

"Making our friend Pyrrha a batch of cookies to pay her back for buying us lunch last week," said Weiss quickly.

"What? They're making cookies, too? I thought they went to the dorm so they could ki-"

"Kick things up a notch with their new recipe, yes." Weiss firmly elbowed her partner in the ribs.

"You're acting really strange…" said Ruby, gingerly rubbing her ribs.

"Look, if they're gonna be a while in the love cave, we might as well kill some time," said Qrow. "How about a sparring match?"

"What?! No way!" Ruby's eyes darted from Qrow to Winter and back. "You two would crush us!"

"Which is why I was thinking we can pair up with one of you."

"I never _did_ get to properly beat you," said Winter. "Very well. Weiss, with me."

"Actually, I want Weiss," said Qrow, to everyone's confusion. "I know I can beat both of you Schnees, but I wanna see how Ruby deals with me."

"You wanna fight me?" asked Ruby. Qrow nodded, and Ruby drew her scythe from her back. "Bring it on!"

"That's my girl." Qrow drew his sword, slicking his bangs back to keep the hair out of his eyes. "Weiss, you're basically just mini-Winter, right?"

"Um… I suppose you could look at it like that," said Weiss. She stood next to Qrow, her sword drawn and her stance steady.

"This ought to be interesting. Ms. Rose, I am honored to fight by your side," said Winter.

"Uh… Thanks? It's nice fighting with you, too," said Ruby. "Er… This is weird."

"Fire when ready, Specialist," said Qrow, drawing his sword. Winter split her weapons, holding a blade in each hand. Behind her, a large white Glyph materialized from nothing. She saw Ruby take up a stance reminiscent of her uncle, while Weiss mirrored the Schnee across from her. This really _would_ be interesting.

"Ready?" Winter rocketed forward, aiming for Qrow. "Begin!"

* * *

Ruby and Weiss watched their respective uncle and sister go at it, their fight stretching into the fortieth minute. The fledgling Huntresses had exhausted themselves within the first twenty minutes of extended combat with two veterans, but Qrow and Winter still had some fight left in them.

Not much fight, as both of them had taken several hits and exhausted most of their Aura reserves. Qrow in particular had taken quite a few hits directly, slashes and bruises all over his body.

"You're… You're not beating me… Schnee," huffed Qrow.

"Just stay down!" snapped Winter. She zipped forward, slashing Qrow across the chest. His Aura took the brunt of it, leaving only a shallow cut across the chest.

"Give it up… Winter," grunted Qrow. He slashed back at Winter, tossing her swords several meters away. Qrow slowly made his approach, dragging himself to his sparring partner.

"I suppose you've won?" said Winter. Despite her surrender, Qrow kept coming, his sword tightly held in his hand. "Qrow? Q-qrow! You win!"

"Not… yet…" Qrow stood just a few inches from Winter. She squeezed her eyes shut, hearing only the swipe of Qrow's sword through the air.

Winter felt her hair fall from its bun, the long white locks dancing down her face. She opened her eyes, locking gazes with Qrow, who grinned with satisfaction. With one finger, Qrow pushed Winter in the chest. She felt the heels of her shoes give, and she teetered back.

"Ah! Qrow, help!"

Winter fell back, dropping to the ground. Qrow chuckled, collapsing onto his partner.

"Good… match…" breathed Qrow.

"You idiot! T-these shoes were…"

Qrow leaned in and pressed his lips against Winter's. Winter melted almost immediately, losing herself in the kiss. They broke away, breathless from more than just their fight.

"Expensive…"

"Oh! My! GOD!"

"Whoops," chuckled Qrow. "I don't know about you, but I forgot we had an audience." Winter blushed bright red, immediately shoving Qrow off of her. She sat up suddenly, her eyes bouncing from the excited expression of Ruby to the shock, confusion, and general disgust of Weiss.

"Winter!" Weiss dropped her sword, unable to properly put words together. "You?! And him?! How?! Why?!"

"Weiss, there's a lot to consider before passing judgement," said Winter. She tried to stand, tumbling back down on her broken heels. "Damn it, Qrow, these were 600 Lien!"

"Weiss! Do you know what this means?!" squealed Ruby.

"It means Winter has completely lost her mind!"

"It means that we're family now!" Ruby jumped onto Weiss, squeezing her tightly. "You're my cousin now!"

"Whoa, pump your brakes, kiddo," said Qrow. "First of all, she's your aunt, and second, she's not. That would only work if we're married."

"And you're not, right?" said Weiss, trying to swallow her disgust. "Please tell me you're not married."

"Not in this life."

"Not yet, I assure you."

Qrow and Winter locked eyes, both surprised at the other response. Qrow thought it was obvious that he wasn't the type for marriage. He didn't present himself as the type to want to settle down. It was against his nature. He learned very early on that distance was a very important thing where he was concerned.

On the other side, Winter assumed that marriage would be an eventuality. She wasn't looking for a proposal just yet, but she was always the type to play the long game. Why were they even bothering with this if they weren't intending to marry?

"N-never?" asked Winter. Qrow bit his lip, cursing his big mouth. He didn't mean to hurt Winter, but it was obvious he had.

"Well, not _never_ , I guess. I mean, it's too early to tell," Qrow remedied. "It's not big on my mind. Not that I'd be completely shut out to the idea, y'know? Just… I like things the way they are. For now."

"D'AAAAAAW! You two are so _cute!_ " squealed Ruby. Qrow buried his face into his palms, shaking his head

"Anyway… You two hungry?" asked Qrow. "Schnee and I were gonna take you out to celebrate your Vytal win."

"And a bit of extra happy news, right?"

"Heh. I suppose. Call Yang and Blake, get them over here. We'll grab some dinner, my treat."

"You said I would pay," said Winter.

"I say a lot of things I don't mean."

"I am _not_ okay with this," said Weiss. "Winter, you're clearly not thinking straight! He's your archrival! He constantly gets you in trouble! You _hate_ each other!"

"C'mere, Schnee Lite. Lemme talk to you for a sec," said Qrow. Weiss nervously inched forward as if Qrow had invited her to stick her hand in a bear trap. "Alright, so, you're not a child, so I won't treat you like one. I'm not gonna lie to you. Me and Winter started off as a selfish, drunken fling that she justifiably regretted. I had _zero_ intentions of becoming involved with your sister past our original… let's say rendezvous."

"Ew! Uncle, don't be gross!" groaned Ruby. Qrow shook his head, but continued unperturbed.

"But things change. I care about your sister in a way I didn't think I'd ever be able to care about anyone else. She changed something in me, something I can't really put into words. And everything you said is right. I'm her nemesis, we should hate each other, she's not thinking straight. But I wanna ask you a favor. Not as child to adult. I wanna ask you a favor, Huntsman to Huntsman. Give me a chance. I know you have no reason to trust me, but just give me a chance. I'm still not sure what Winter wants me to be, but I wanna try my hardest to be that for her."

Weiss looked Qrow up and down skeptically, unable to decide if there was any merit to what he said. Then, she caught a glimpse of Winter, who was watching silently, desperation etched into her face. Weiss could tell that Winter wanted nothing more than for the two to get along

Weiss sighed, extending her hand in peace.

"Alright, Qrow. I'll give you a chance. _One_ chance," said Weiss. "But understand this. If you do anything at all to hurt my sister, I will do everything in my power to make your life hell. Every connection my family has, every Lien to my name, every bit of energy in me, I'll spend it happily to make sure you are ruined."

Qrow chuckled, but accepted Weiss' handshake. He believed every word to come out of her mouth, and knew that she was perfectly capable of toppling him if she put her mind to it. Not that it mattered. Qrow had no intention of hurting Winter in any facet.

"Alright, Weiss. Deal." Qrow stood up, cracking his back stiffly. "Christ, I'm getting old."

"I just texted Yang," said Ruby, fidgeting with her Scroll. "She said she and Blake are gonna head to the front of the school and that we should meet her there."

"Alright, then. Let's go."

"What about me?" demanded Winter. "You've ruined my shoes, and I am _not_ walking around barefoot!"

Qrow stooped down, slipping one arm under Winter's legs and one behind her head. He scooped her up with a smug, self-satisfied smirk. Winter rolled her eyes, but didn't protest when Qrow carried her, wedding-style, out of the courtyards of Beacon. Ruby and Weiss followed behind them, one unable to contain her excitement and the other trying not to throw up.

"You truly are a strange man, Qrow," said Winter. "One moment, you're a belligerent, childish troublemaker."

"And the next moment?" he asked, that smirk of his growing.

"The next moment, sweet. Charming. Chivalrous." Winter leaned in and kissed Qrow, feeling her cheeks tinge red. Her embarrassment wasn't helped by Weiss' dry-heaving.

"Nice one, Uncle Qrow," said Ruby, offering a fist. Qrow snickered, then fist-bumped his niece.

"Yup. I've still got it."


End file.
